01/03/13 01/03/13 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is "democracy now!" >> i believe this rally will have a huge impact on women of delhi and the rest of the country. it will send a message that such crimes must not happen again. >> mass protests continue in india where five men were formally charged with a gang rape and murder of an indian student on a moving bus. we will speak with kavita krishnan. she led protests outside the chief minister's residence when

the police charged at them with water cannons. >> shouldn't the government know this much that at least our rate will not be -- our rates will not be washed with water cannons? >> then another new york times exposé on the safety conditions of the bangladeshi factory or a fire killed at least 111 workers. the factory made clothes for walmart. >> how the factory caught fire, i don't know that. when we heard "fire," we were all turned get out of the factory. one of the workers pulled me through a broken window. >> we will speak with steve greenhouse, his latest piece is, "as walmart makes safety vows, it's seen as obstacle to change." all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!,"

democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. u.s. drone strikes have killed 15 people in pakistan including a taliban commander, according to officials there. mavi nazir was killed along several other people in the strike in south missouri stand wednesday night. a second strike this morning in north was harassed and killed at least four people. the united nations says more than 60,000 people have died in syria over nearly two years of fighting between the government forces and rebels opposed to president bashar al-assad. a new analysis of the toll conducted for the u.n. human rights office took five months to complete using data from seven sources, including the syrian government. the number is higher than the previous estimate of 45,000 reported by the british best based syrian observatory for human rights. rupert colville, spokesperson for u.n. human rights commissioner navi pillay, discussed the syrian crisis on al jazeera wednesday.

>> it became so complicated. there were so many different people reporting casualties, so many different places where violence and fighting was going on simultaneously. and no way really of verifying each and every case. so it has been a very difficult issue. but this is a real attempt to do exhaustive analysis of the information we do have. it should be treated as an indicative number, not as a real number, but we believe is probably the minimum. >> violence in syria is continuing to claim scores of lives on a daily basis. more than 200 people were killed wednesday, many of them in and around the capital damascus. dozens died when the government airstrike hit a gas station in a damascus suburb. an internet video posted by rebels appears to show fighters loyal to al-assad killing two men by stabbing them and hitting them with concrete blocks over extended period of several minutes.

meanwhile, the united nations refugee agency says about 84,000 people fled the syrian crisis in the month of december alone, bringing the total number of people displaced by the conflict to about half a million. a news blackout has been lifted over the disappearance of a u.s. journalist kidnapped in syria. freelance reporter james foley was kidnapped by gunmen in november. his family had kept the news secret, but they've now launched a public campaign for his return. foley has written for global post. in 2011, he was captured and held for weeks in libya by forces loyal to ousted leader muammar gaddafi. president obama has signed an renewal of the controversial national defense authorization act, or ndaa. the law has drawn widespread criticism for last year's provision allowing the u.s. to detain suspects anywhere in the world without charge or trial. a group of journalists,

activists, and scholars have challenged the obama administration over that statute in a case currently before a federal appeals court. among those who has sued is chris hedges and noam chomsky. the 2013 version effectively blocks the obama administration from closing guantanamo bay by barring use of funds for construction on facilities that could be used for prisoner transfers. there are currently 166 prisoners held at guantanamo, 86 of them have been cleared for release. president obama signed the renewal despite his objections to the guantanamo provision following promises to close the detention center. in a statement he said -- following a torrent of criticism from in his own party, u.s. house speaker john boehner has

set a timeline for voting on $60 billion in relief for superstorm sandy. boehner has pledged to bring $9 billion in aid to the floor on friday followed by a $51 billion package on jerry 15. he canceled an expected vote this week on sandy relief, prompting outrage from republicans in northeastern states pounded by the storm. in particular, new jersey governor chris christie hammered boehner, he called the house speaker four times tuesday night after being informed the bill had been pulled. during a 40-minute news conference wednesday, governor christie called boehner's decision "disappointing and disgusting to watch" and condemned the gop's "toxic internal politics." in our hour of desperate need, we have left waiting for help six times longer than the victims of katrina with no end in sight. americans are tired of the palace intrigue and political

partisanship of this congress, which places one upmanship ahead of the lives of citizens who set these people to washington, d.c. in the first place. those in new jersey and new york are tired of being treated like second-class citizens. 66 days and counting. shame on you. shame on congress. >> house republicans are also taking criticism for failing to reach other as the landmark violence against women act. a version passed by the senate last year extended domestic violence protections to 30 million undocumented immigrants, lgbt people, and native american women. but house republicans opposed the extensions and passed their own version. washington democratic senator patty murray blasted house leaders for failing to adopt the senate bill saying --

ohio democratic congressmember dennis kucinich has given his farewell speech to congress at the end of his eighth term in office. since 1997, dennis kucinich has been a leading progressive voice on capitol hill. he ran for president twice, down to create a department of peacep in his goodbye address wednesday, kucinich called for unity, amidst partisan differences he says has nearly incapacitated the government. a >> we need a new politics in america that unites people, which sets aside partisan differences for the greater good of the country, which strives to reconnect with the greatness of the nation and the goodness of the american people. what would that politics look like? the rhetoric would change to one of mutual respect, the questioning of motives would end, the poison system of paid to play would be transformed by public financing, and our government would be rededicated to practice in the practical aspirations of the american people for jobs, health care for

all, for education for all, for retirement security for all, and environmental security. >> dennis kucinich lost his seat after being pitted against fellow democratic incumbent marcy kaptur under republican- mandated redistricting. new hampshire is set to become the first day in the country with an all female congressional delegation after its newest lawmakers are sworn in today. new hampshire's new governor is also a woman, but the state's gender progress is not reflected across the country. women will hold just 20% of seats in the new senate and less than 18% in the house. six states have never elected a woman to the house, and four have never chosen a woman senator. five men have been formally charged in an indian court with a gang rape and murder of a 23- year-old student on a moving bus in new delhi. the attack sparked a nationwide outcry with calls for harsher punishments against rapists and an end to violence against women.

the outrage deepened after the victim -- who is still not been named publicly -- died from the wounds she suffered in the hours on assault. a sixth suspect is believed to be under 18 will likely face charges in juvenile court. more on the case and the outreach it has inspired after the headlines. more than 100 people in india have died from exposure amid historically low to butchers in the northern state. the official said many of the dead were poor people whose bodies were found outside in sidewalks or parks. temperatures in bordering new delhi hit their lowest maximum level in more than 40 years on wednesday. at least 30 members of colombia's for trouble group have been killed after the military struck a rebel camp in northwestern area. military attacks against the group have continued even after rebels and the colombian government began meeting for peace talks in cuba late last year. several former military officials have been detained in chile after a judge ordered their arrest for alleged

involvement in the 1973 murder of singer victor jara. he was shot to death after the u.s.-backed coup that ousted elected president allende. his hands were smashed so he could no longer play the guitar. his widow has called for the u.s. to extradite one of the eight officers being charged in the killing. pedro nunez, who is currently living in florida john jara spoke wednesday. >> is very difficult for me to talk at this moment. in spite of the fact i know is the time to talk. it is not the time for celebration, it is a time to be calm and other is a lot of work ahead in order to finally achieve real justice. and especially real justice for all the victims who suffered so

much here and in some any other places in chile. -- so many other places in chile. >> secretary of state hillary clinton has been discharged from a new york hospital where she received treatment for a blood clot in her head stemming from a concussion she suffered last month. al jazeera has purchased the cable news channel current tv. the deal is expected to give the guitar-based news network a wider impact on u.s. media world. current tv was founded by former vice president al gore and reaches tens of millions of homes across the united states. the poet, spoken or performance of our rights activist jayne cortez has died at the age of 76. she published numerous books of poetry and put out several records of her words set to music. here she is performing one of her best known poems, "i am nyc. >>i am new york city

here is my brain of hot sauce my tobacco teeth my mattress of bedbug tongue legs apart hand on chin war on the roof insults pointed fingerspushcarts my contraceptives all look at my pelvis blushing i am new york city of blood police and fried pies i rub my docks red with grenadine and jelly madness in a flow of tokay my huge skull of pigeons my seance of peeping toms my plaited ovaries excuse me this is my grime my thigh of steelspoons and toothpicks i imitate no one 01/03/13 01/03/13 >> jayne cortez that on december 28. those are some of the headlines. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world.

we begin in india where six men had been formally charged with the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus. the woman identified only by the hindi word for fearless, nirbhaya, died from her injuries on december 29 in a hospital in singapore where she was flown for special treatment. police are likely to press murder charges and seek the death penalty for the five adults. and tuesday, the woman's ashes were scattered in the ganges river, and many new year's celebrations were canceled as mourners honored her memory. the woman was so badly mutilated she needed a gut transplant, but ultimately succumbed to severe organ failure. in her memory, hundreds of thousands of people took part in a candlelight vigil and called for perpetrators to be punished. >> being a woman, i see it is not just about these six people, it is about admitting child

abuse, domestic violence, rape, molestation. a very simple thing we can do, men and women, is we need to raise our voices. >> the father of the delhi gang rape but, has been speaking to the bbc about his daughter. this is an excerpt from his interview. >> my daughter was adamant on what she wanted. when she used to go to school, there was a straight shot on the way. she met up her mind have a seat [indiscernible] the same happened in her higher education. she was doing what she desired. i remember asking her once, who are your friends? she replied, that, it is only my books i am friends with. she always wanted to be a doctor

and was sure about it. the reason why we moved was the need for a better future for our children. when my daughter was a kid, she is to hold me tight and sleep for hours. for the first two days after the incident, she was unconscious. then she asked the doctor to offer her something to eat when she regained consciousness. as a food was not allowed, she specifically asked for candy. she kept talking to her mother when she was in the hospital. one day she held her mother and whispered, "mommy, i am sorry. i am sorry." >> the gang rape case has shone a light on other instances of

sexual violence in india, or one woman is raped every 20 minutes according to the national crime registry. the registry found 24,206 cases of rape were documented in the country in 2011, but three- fourths of the perpetrators are still at large. the conviction rates in the rape cases in india have decreased from 46% in 1971 to 26% in 2012. >> an tahrir protesters in india are bracing record-breaking cold to continue their calls for the reforms to increase punishment for rapists and prevent legal cases from languishing. protesters are not only calling for increased sensitivity towards survivors of sexual violence, but also an expansion of the very definition of rape under indian law to include crimes varying from physical dehumanization to penetrative assault. they're also calling for laws prohibiting marital rape -- which india does not currently have -- as well as more sensitive forensic procedures during medical examination of

survivors of sexual assault. for more we're joined by several guests, from india and the it industry, we go to kavita krishnan, the secretary the all india progressive women's association, one of the main protest organizers. last week, she led protesters outside the delhi chief minister's residence when the police charged at them with water cannons. we welcome you to "democracy now!" can you begin by telling us what happened, why this particular horrific rape on a moving bus has sparked so much outcry in india? >> it is difficult to understand exactly why this particular case struck such a chord, because there have been some any other incident -- of course this was particularly graphic violence, but there have been other terrible incidents as well, including incidents in delhi, but i think it is an accumulated

feeling of anger and outrage at the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of sexual violence, and at the and posed in security and the restrictions of women. it burst out perhaps because this young woman was doing something so normal. she boarded a bus to b home after watching a film with her friend. i think that somehow struck such a huge cord because everyone identified with her and fell -- felt in your own situation, and india as a huge number of people coming to study, coming to do a variety of courses were coming to work and a number of contracts relies jobs. i think they all felt a deep

connection with this nameless person. you mentioned the name that has been used for her, but i think that is just the name used by a couple of newspapers. for many people, she was nameless and they chose to refer to her without her name, without seeking to know her name or personalize her by giving her some other name, because i think she was everyone and could have been any of them, it in a sense. >> could you talk about the response of major leaders in the country and to what degree that had an impact on the size and continuation of this protest? >> yes, i think the governments in india in the states as well as the central government and the police and the inter missionary of law enforcement

are used to responding with great apathy and indifference to the entire issue of violence against women, and the sexual violence in particular has been greeted or has always been greeted, virtually every case is greeted with the poorest of victim planning. not just from the voices in society, the people in authority. it is routine response from the police and politicians across the board who have indulged in rape culture remarks. i think in this case, also, the apathy and indifference and refusal to take responsibility and be accountable to what happened to this young woman, because it was deeply felt this bus was a private bus which had violated multiple rules and regulations, and yet it was being allowed to run amok on dili's streets, picking up passengers, indulging in

violence against women. the police in new the system. the traffic authority maintained a diary. they maintain records of bribes taken from private bus owners. that is how they traced the bus. it goes to show they knew this bus had no business to be on the streets. they knew it was violating herby having or had gone rogue, yet there were taking bribes and allowing it to drive. i think all of that accumulated. since then, what has added fuel to the fire, for instance, the member of parliament, the son of india's president, he made a remark about the protesters. he said, these are painted

women. these are not real students. i know was students are like. these are people that go to discotheques. these are pretty women. we should not take them seriously because there protesters dressed in something fashionable. >> kavita krishnan, we actually have a secret recording of a policeman speaking. i want to turn to an expos a by tehelka from an online weekly news magazine. in april, the magazine's reporters secretly recorded conversations with 30 delhi police officers who blamed women for being raped. the police and everything from fashionable clothes to having boyfriends to visiting bars to drinking and alcohol to working alongside men as justifications for the rapes. here's what one police officer was secretly recorded saying about a rape victim. >> the girl at >> that was a secret recording

of a police officer. kavita krishnan, if you could further talk about this, the attitudes and what you're trying have enacted. >> yes, i think you are correct, this was a major exposé. it is all the more telling that no action was taken against the 17 police personnel from the deli and national capital region of india her were recorded making these kinds of remarks. it was taken for granted the were taught police officers, a senior police officers, famous

police officers who made up solely a tentacle remarks since sexual violence and rates are increasing because women are wearing fashionable clothing. i think what we are seeking is that an acknowledgement of the deep-seated gender bias that is existing in the police force, in the loss, in the internal investigation mechanism, in the judiciary, and in society. we want a comprehensive set of actions to correct these. they're not even acknowledged publicly now. we are seeking, to begin with, there are more than 100,000 pending sexual violence cases in the country, many of them which have dragged on for years and more than a decade. we want these to be addressed on a priority basis, that they should be brought to court and

heard speedily, and some closure should be had. the police system, we are wanting their to be a standard protocol for responding to crimes against women, not just sexual violence but the so- called honor crimes or domestic violence or other violence against women, and there should be protocol which is publicly displayed in all the police stations. and there should be some redress, some with which a woman who goes to a police station and finds they do not recorder complaint or respond to her correctly, she should have a way to complain and ensure he does not remain in his post anymore. his views, he may have different views about women, but if he is a public officer, he has to be accountable to a public code of conduct, a democratic code of conduct. we're speaking with kavita

krishnan, secretary of the all india progressive association, one of the leading organizers of the mass protests after the rape and now death of a young woman student on a moving bus. when we come back from the break, we will also be joined in addition to kavita krishnan, by elora chowdhury, a professor of women's studies at the university of massachusetts in boston. then a new york times exposé on the factory in bangladesh that killed at least 111 people, the factory that was contract with walmart. we will be back in a moment. ♪ [music break]

>> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. our guests are kavita krishnan, secretary all in the women association, one of the the organizers in a protest in the aftermath of the rape and that of a young woman student on a moving bus in delhi. also joined by elora chowdhury, and this as a professor of women's studies at the university of massachusetts in boston. >> i want to bring elora chowdhury into the conversation. your reaction, not only to the massive protests in india, but to the way the media in the west has been covering events there the level of hypocrisy in terms of the fascination with the specifics of the terrible attack that occurred? > yes, i have been following the media reports both in south

asia and in the u.s. and u.k. and the so-called western world about coverage of this event. i think what i would suggest here is we bring a critique to these events. on the one hand, we see in the western media some reporters taking this moral high ground, pointing fingers and demonizing indian culture as the sexual violence against women is pervasive in only certain parts of the world and somehow reflective of deeply inherent cultural tradition of that part of the world. cars with that obscures' is -- what that obscures' is both rape and domestic violence are pervasive in the united states,

and domestic violence in one of the leading causes of injury to women. exceedingly high numbers of rape, in fact, most ago and reported in the u.s. i think embedded in these kinds of reporting is a certain colonial mindsets. there is a long history of that. these kinds of mindset that women are the measure of the progress of a society emerges from colonial practices. these ideas were used to legitimize both colonization and also imperialism. so that is something we have to keep in mind in reading these reports. at the same time, however, i think that while the massive protests that have occurred in india around this particular case are very significant and

one can hope it will lead to also significant changes in women's position, however, i think we also have to think about the particulars of this case and how imbedded in these kinds of -- the reporting in this case are also a certain class-based assumptions about the poor. one of the things i have found striking is that house some many of the reports are referring -- how so many of the reports are referring to the slum colony, where i think at least four of the perpetrators live, as some kind of a breeding ground for criminals. also, referring to poor men as the literate and violent,

somehow normalizes these violent attacks and associates them with poverty and ends up criminalizing the poor. rape and sexual violence of pork is pervasive and routine bridge we have to think about the ways in which rape attacks and violence against women reported and middle-class communities and certain elite communities are not exposed or talked about or do not illicit quite as much more outrage. so i think the assumption the class-based assumptions in this reporting are also something that are quite striking. >> looking at figures in the u.s., i think is something like, according to one organization, every two minutes a woman is

sexually assaulted. another figure is here in the united states, one in four college students, college women, have been either raped or attempted rape. the broader issue, as protesters take to the streets in india, women's rights advocates here at home are lamenting the news the 2012 reauthorization of the violence against women act has been stalled, a bill that would have extended protections to 30 million lgbt individuals, undocumented immigrants, native american women. given the delay and the federal level, some activists are ramping up calls for the rest once and for all ratify the you and bill of rights for women. only eight countries have failed to ratify the convention, leaving the u.s. in the company of iran, somalia, and sudan. the public protest in sexual violence in india are leading some to question the u.s. house

on track record, were only 24% of alleged rapes result in an arrest, never mind a conviction. kavita krishnan, i'm wondering your thoughts on this issue as a leading women's rights activist, leading a protest in this particular brutal rape and death? what i just want to say briefly i've agree with what she said. the person who led the charge and try to demonize the micra workers has been the prime minister has referred to them as a menace and call them footloose migrants and said they are the main threat of sexual violence, which is completely misplaced, and she said you have, across the board, a huge number of cases of custodial rate. some of the most important cases which have galvanized the women's movement in india, before this incident, have been the custodial rapes of indigenous women around 35 years

ago, and the custodial rate by army -- suspected of being a militant, raped and killed in 2004. it is important to contextualize at. but what you said about the u.s., i think that is true. we should keep in mind the kind of victim blaming i described, obviously, that does not only happen in india. you have protests all over the world, so this is a larger phenomenon. i want to briefly tell you we are also seeking changes in the laws because the loss in india, many of them are colonial legacy. and laws which are a colonial legacy, and are extremely biased towards women. for instance, women -- a woman who is a rape survivor is

subjected to a medical test copy to finger test, in which the doctor puts two fingers and her body to find out if she is habituated to sex. there have been court judgments in sex against this practice, but it continues and the government is yet to put an end to this practice. then laws refer to molestation as a raging of modesty. sexual-harassment as teasing. these are usages and laws that trivialize the experience of sexual violence, and have a very narrow definition of sexual violence that do not cover a whole range of types and varieties of sexual violence including stalking, throwing acid to disfigure the face, stripping and sexual humiliation, and so on. we are seeking changes in the law that recognize indian women pause expedient of sexual

violence. >> i want to ask elora chowdhury about the larger issue as india has been rapidly industrializing in recent decades, millions of people coming from the countryside into the cities, and women have been joining the industrial work force and the city workforce in huge numbers. the larger social pressures and the impact on the mill supremacy and oppression of women that this movement is really sort of the tip of the iceberg of what is going on here. >> yes, absolutely. i completely agree with kavita krishnan, that i was struck from the reports that i think almost all six of the men who have been charged with rape in this case are economic migrants to delhi, which is reflective of a larger

trend. reports also suggest if you combine the numbers of rapes reported in major cities in india in the last year, delhi exceeds the combined number of rapes and other cities. delhi is being called the rape capital of the region. i think we also need to look at the changes happening as a result of the various social and economic and cultural forces that are under way, increasing globalization, movements of people, conspicuous consumption, the representation of all the media that is so easily available -- i think all of these -- and just the change is happening in urban spaces as a result of all of these different kinds of forces and gender dynamics joining with one

another three different kinds of changes in gender dynamics. we have to think about the particulars of this case. from what i have read, the young woman was being punished for speaking out, for being out late -- for being out so late at night with a male companion that she dared to defy male authority on the bus. that all of these contributed to this horrific event. we really need to look at sexual violence against women not only as an issue of men versus women, but also these other changes that are occurring in our societies and how those contribute to challenging male supremacy. >> kavita krishnan, we just have

30 seconds. what are the plans now for the mass movement dealing with this rape and death? today, the five men formally charged in an indian court with gang rape and murder of the woman who has yet to be publicly identified. >> we are struggling now to keep the concerns of women's rights and women's aspirations for freedom center stage. there is an attempt of part of the government's to shift the entire debate on a certain forms of punishment or on to whether to name a lot after this rape victim or not. we're trying to keep the concerns about women's rights and aspirations for freedom center stage. the women in this movement have been raising slogans saying "my voice is higher than my skirt" and we think that is an

important assertion and an important to go from the struggle. >> we will continue to cover it. kavita krishnan, secretary the all india progressive women's association, one of the main protest organizers speaking to us from new delhi, and elora chowdhury, a sosa prof. of women's studies at the university of massachusetts in boston. when we come back, another exposé on the bangladeshi factory making clothing for walmart, and where there was a major fire, least 111 deaths, many of them women who come into the capital of bangladesh for work. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> we turn now to a new revelations in the fire that killed at least 111 workers in a garment factory in bangladesh used by several walmart suppliers. it was the worst industrial accident in the country's history. first, we return to the voices of some of the young women seamstresses who escaped the inferno late last november on a saturday night as the rush to meet holiday orders from overseas customers. >> how the factory caught fire, i don't know that grid but when we heard "fire," we all rushed. the factory worker broke a

window and someone pulled me through it. we tried to run out, but the door was locked. the floor became dark because of smoke. the boy's rescue me. >> when the building caught fire, and did not know and many did not know because soon after the fire the total floor was full of smoke and we cannot see anything. we ran to a chamber. the workers broke the windows so we can get out through the window. >> survivors said an exit door the factory was locked, fire extinguishers did not work, and the fire alarm went off their voices ordered them to stay at their sewing machines. many victims jump to their deaths from the eight-story building, which had no emergency exits or fire escapes. more than 50 of the bodies retrieved were so burned -- were burned so badly, they cannot be identified and reports showed a document posted on tazreen fashions website indicated that an ethical sourcing official for walmart had flagged violations and/or conditions which were

deemed to be high risk at the factory. >> after the fire, walmart said it fired the suppliers that set contract work to tazreen fashions, that there were using the factory without its approval. critics say inspection reports discovered in the tazreen factory -- which were obtained by the new york times from a labour rights group -- underscored funnel problems with walmart's supply chain in bangladesh, allowing it to avoid addressing safety problems. surely after the fire, "democracy now!" spoke with a labor organizer with the bangladesh center for workers solidarity who visited the factory and took pictures of the charred clothing labels she found there, including the walmart brand faded glory. >> 112, 120 workers were there. [indiscernible] they have to be with this factory and improve safety standards. that is our demint.

>> for more, we're joined by the reporter following much of this, steve greenhouse, who has been a labor and workplace reporter for the new york times since 1995, where his long covered walmart as part of his beat. his latest piece on the fire at walmart supplier in bangladesh is called, "as walmart makes safety vows, it's seen as obstacle to change." steve greenhouse, welcome to "democracy now!" lay at your findings. what most surprised you? >> i worked with the reporter and we found several surprising revelations in investigating walmart's relationship with this tazreen factory. first, we obtained a series of inspection reports that showed over nearly a year, walmart suppliers continue doing work in this country even though it was found to have many serious safety problems. each report found a lack of fire extinguishers, several found a lack of smoke detectors, lack of

fire alarms. each report found partially blocked access to exit routes. one of the big revelations we found in our investigative report was bad one of the main monitoring companies, inspection companies for walmart, in mid we don't even check whether factories have emergency exits, fire escapes or fire-proof smoke-proof enclosed stair cases. this factory did not have outdoor fire escapes or enclosed staircase is breed three staircases lead to the ground floor where the fire had begun. you are really screwed if you're in a factory and have to go downstairs -- staircase is that the to where the fire is. another revelation we found is while the ceo of the company, might do, it gave a major

address of the council of foreign relations saying, week, walmart, will not use it and say factories, it turns out the company's head of ethical sourcing sent a letter to other retailers two weeks earlier saying, "we acknowledge our audits, inspections are inadequate on fire and electrical safety." i think this dovetails with what this inspection company said. >> we have a clip of the walmart president and ceo mike duke speaking last month in new york, greeted by protesters who were upset, in part, about the deadly tazreen factory fire. this is bloomberg lp president dan doctoroff traducing duke at a meeting hosted by the council of foreign relations. >> i want to congratulate all of you for making it through the enthusiastic crowds outside. i'm told the last person who received such a welcome was muammar gaddafi. [laughter]

uh, it might do said about the lack of fire safety at its suppliers. >> over the recent years, walmart has made the factories in bangladesh and other countries around the world safer, particularly in this area of fire safety. a few years ago, i would say in 2010, we had a very serious focus in bangladesh on fire safety. as a matter of fact, in 2010, we had 94 factories that we stopped doing business with, said we would no longer have products produced in this particular factories. i believe we had 23 other factories that corrected and moved up their standards in the area of fire safety. and made some progress with some other factories.

was even moree wer progress made and we worked with other organizations and retells to raise the bar. did a tremendous amount of training across the country. i believe over 3000 factories went through the training developed, including fire safety and the standards even for the associates to know. in 2012, even raising the bar more with additional audits and focus -- unfortunately, this particular factory was one of the ones that had been decertified and 1 walmart did not use as an authorized -- i will tell you, the particular supplier, when we found out had used an unauthorized factory, we took swift action. we terminated our relationship with that supplier and no longer will purchase any product read but with all of that, we are still stepping back again and saying, what else can we do? >> steve greenhouse, your

response to walmart's claim of its efforts to assure safety in bangladesh? >> walmart is taking some efforts not to use and six factories, but many say they're not doing enough. -- to not use unsay factories, but many say they're not hearing enough. other factories are also unsafe. if walmart inspector finds a factory and safe, it usually takes at least 18 months to two years for walmart to exclude the factory. some critics say walmart plays the shell game. these factories are here until they're deemed safe, then go to another factory. in 2010, juan, there were teed up a very bad factory fires. 21 died in one, 29 died and another, including people jumping from the eighth and ninth floor, like the triangle shirtwaist fire in 1911 in new

york where 146 workers died. >> also young women. >> one thing that amazed me and disappointed me in investigating the tazreen factory is that we have all of these american companies doing business in bangladesh and factories that have some of the most basic -- don't have some of the must say basic mechanisms. adana how companies say, we only want you say factories, when in in apparel factory, will say, you need fire escapes, you need enclosed stair cases. also, after the horrific fires in 2010, there was an emergency meeting held in bangladesh in april 2011 where labor groups ngo's, retailers like walmart,

sears, target, participated. we obtained the minutes of the meeting. walmart spoke out against proposals for the western retailers to refinance the needed corrective actions to ensure fire safety in the factories. lamar said, it is not financially feasible. we cannot afford it. the said it would not cost that much to make the factory safe estimated about $3 billion over five years, $600 million a year, which is just like 3 percent sign of the cost of the annual amount of grain exports. that would just raise like -- would raise the cost of a $20 shirt by a couple of cents. >> and the importance of ngladesh to the broker action change -- especially garments to sears, targets, walmart --

>> gap? >> we all think china is the human this exporter of garments, and it is, but more and more apparel companies are leaving china insourcing instead in bangladesh. bangladesh is the world's second-largest exporter of appal, exporting $19 billion of apparel. interesting now, tommy hilfiger, the parent company, have embraced an important plan to trotter osher factory -- to try to ensure factory safety. there tried to pay for the factory improvements at various garment plants and have inspectors look at the plants. when inspectors find the same situation as adequate, then these companies will step up and pay for the improvements, saying it is just two of us and we will

not really make this operational until we get to other companies to join us. they're pushing very hard for walmart and other companies to join them. wal-mart, mike duke says walmart is a leader in factory safety. people point to this it will 2011 meeting where walmart, the 800 pound gorilla so this week, blocked an important plan. i think of the movie "linkedin," or lincoln says, "i am close to an immense power." walmart is closed and immense power. they have the ability, if it wants, to turn things around to the game changer in bangladesh. it would not cost the company that much and is a many lives. >> walmart buys more than $1 billion in garments from bangladesh each year, attracted by the country's $37 a month minimum wage, the lowest in the world. $37 a month. what about union organizing in

bangladesh? in the united states as well? >> you had been in -- there is the workers' movement in bangladesh. there was a big fight two or three years ago to raise the minimum wage, which it is $25, they got it all the way up to $37. there is quite a bit of ferment in bangladesh, a lot of resistance to unionizing individual plants. one of the nation's foremost union organizers was found murdered six or eight months ago. my colleague wrote a moving story about his death. his piece points to perhaps a government folks or business folks perhaps hiring someone to murder him. as we see sometimes in the u.s., a lot of workers in bangladesh

are scared to stick their necks out and support a union because they might get in trouble, might get fired. >> finally, as we wrap up, we did invite walmart on as we did in our previous segment. they did not come on. but you said walmart is calling on factory owners to make fixes, but people say the owners are on razor-thin margins because the company pays such low prices they cannot pay for the corrections. >> would we research the article, we spoke to factory owners. they said, we're paid such low prices by walmart and other western retailers that we cannot afford the $500,000, $300,000 in investments for a fire escapes or enclosed staircase is. they say the folks with the big pockets should be doing this. walmart has called on the bangladesh government -- bangladesh is so eager to

attract business, probably will not become a very tough policeman. >> thank you for being with us. [captioning made possible by democracy now!] democracy now!]